Category Archives: Healthy Living

It starts with WAKING-UP, Ugh!

Pain in Waking

I try to stay positive in all of my posts, but let’s face it; everyone has THOSE days where you wake-up and you immediately want to fast forward to the next day. If you are a member of the “chronic pain” club, then you know what I am talking about and understand the depth of the UGH.

How Do I Get Past “Ugh”?

The first thing that I do is take a hot shower as this helps take away some of my pain immediately. My next step is to stretch. Stretching is crucial for people with arthritis

Stretch Through the Pain

and many other debilitating, chronic disorders. It helps to get oxygen to the muscles and helps realign my body, making it easier to move.

I also have the pleasure to live in a City that has “healing waters”. Desert Hot Springs truly has “healing waters”, which are offered to the public at a daily rate at several spas across the town.

Desert Hot Springs Spa Hotel

I often soak at Desert Hot Springs Spa Hotel, as it offers 8 pools, sauna, locker rooms with showers and a restaurant to have a refreshing bowl of fruit or salad after soaking in the water.

Another herbal remedy that a friend of mine is making for me, kombucha. Kombucha is known for having a history of health benefits, including reducing inflammation and fighting cancer, arthritis and other degenerative diseases.

Need Relief Now?

Soaking in Epsom Salt not only helps your skin to look young and beautiful again when used as an exfoliant, it also helps with inflammation. The Epsom Salt Council suggests soaking in a bath three times a week for at least 12 minutes at a time.

Herbs ARE the solution!

Today I am grateful for the realization that I can use the fruits and plants of the Earth to provide for me completely. Whether it be for pain, refreshment or energy, I know that I can find all I need right here in Nature.

Chills, Fever, Congestion, Body Aches?

For over fifteen years, whenever I’ve had the flu, I’m talking about the point of being contagious and shivering with fever, I have used this juicing recipe to cure it. Rather than paying $90-$150 to see a doctor and obtain a prescription of antibiotics, I have used my juicer, a couple cloves of garlic, and carrots to cure the flu.( Maybe $5.00)

Cold vs. Flu

Warning: If you are allergic to garlic, or carrots, please disregard this remedy for your health sake.

To start this remedy you need a juicer that can turn a carrot into juice as fast as you can feed it. This is the only major purchase you may need. I recommend a Waring commercial juice extractor often available at Smart n’ Final. If you have a juicer of that capacity, you can start saving money now. Here’s my recipe:

Run a couple cloves of garlic (2-3) through the juicer along with an ounce of water (shot glass) and catch that juice and set it aside.

Immediately juice 6-8 carrots into a large glass and set it aside.

In this phase, keep in mind these words, “DO NOT SWALLOW”

Take the ounce of garlic juice; gargle it for 15-30 seconds then spit it out.

Take the carrot juice; drink it. Yes you may swallow.

Brush your teeth.

You will feel an immediate burning sensation because what is happening is the garlic is killing the infection in your throat.The benefits of garlic’s “Anti-microbial effect” efficiently combats bacterial viruses for immediate relief of congestion in the ears, nose, and throat. Most likely you won’t make it to 30 seconds the first time you gargle, but do all you can to make it to 15 seconds. You will live. After you spew it out, chase it with the carrot juice, then brush your teeth.

The garlic meshed with carrot juice is ingested into your body, fortifying the vitamins, and absorbing throughout the bloodstream the “antimicrobial “ effects that purify your blood; if used regularly will detoxify your liver. WebMD has some interesting facts on garlic you might enjoy, follow the above link for more information.

I Do What?!

Of course you’re thinking; “Wait a minute, gargle with garlic?” Remember, you are contagious and shivering with fever. You need to be quarantined anyway. Spend the rest of the day in bed. Your body now has relief and at this point you will regain the sleep you had lost.This is why I recommend you wait til this point to use this remedy. After you’ve brushed your teeth, there is a very pleasant sweet taste in your mouth. You also have experienced an immediate relief of congestion in the ears, nose and throat. No other flu remedies needed. The longest any flu virus has stayed in my body is 36 hours. If I’m not at least 80% by then, I give it another dose. I’ve never had the flu last more than four days.

Nutrients of Carrots

Carrots and garlic have tremendous holistic healing attributes. Juicing just a few carrots per day alone will do wonders for your health. Juicing carrots provides vitamins A,C,D, E, K, B and B6 to your body and will regulate your blood sugar. Carrots are also rich in Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, organic sodium and other minerals. Juicing-For-Health.com listed twenty health benefits of juicing carrots. Among the list, the most outstanding to me is the benefits of blood building. Juicing carrots builds hemoglobin and lowers serum cholesterol levels, reduces the risks of heart disease and strokes by cleansing the arteries of any plaque deposits. Juicing carrots also helps boost your immune system by increasing the “production and performance of white-blood cells.”

Nutrients of Garlic

Twelve types of antioxidants in garlic provide numerous healing attributes. Garlic is also known as a blood detoxifier, and to be effective in normalizing blood pressure.

There are numerous benefits to holistic remedies rather than going to the doctor.

Flu Fighting Foods

No matter if it’s you or your health insurance that pays the bottom line; next time you have the flu, keep in mind these suggestions. Try this remedy first, and if you don’t feel better in 24 hours, go to your Physician. My experience is that it has worked for over 15 years and has saved hundreds in doctor visits and prescribed antibiotics. I never lost a friend either.

Below are some other juicing recipes that will give you health and nutrition. Enjoy!

What Is Processed Sugar?

Dictionary.com defines process (v.) as to treat or prepare by some particular process, as in manufacturing. Therefore, processed sugar is pure cane sugar that has been treated or prepared by some particular process. My next questions become; what treatment, how is it prepared, in what particular process and where does this all take place?

The first question lead me to a wonderful article on wholevegan.com which offers a complete section on how white and brown sugar are processed. This article brought a whole new understanding to just how lethal processed sugar is for our bodies. In fact there are several chemicals, polyvinyl alcohol and sytrene, that are known to be lethal to the human body. Sodium Hydroxide is used to make soap and is also known to be lethal to the human body.

Sugar Knowledge International SKIL, under the heading Evaporation explains, “the factory can clean up the juice

Sugar Evaporation Process

quite easily with slaked lime (a relative of chalk). I then decided to look-up slaked lime and discovered that this is used primarily to make mortars, plasters and cements. The images that are racing through my mind right now are just not pretty; the chemicals that are used in preparing processed sugar are also used to make cement? I can only imagine what my organs and arteries look like after consuming a lifetime of cement making chemicals. This is not a good thought and leaves me wondering if I want to continue in my research or begin walking like Forrest Gump and pray that this will be enough to combat the damage I have already caused by my past sugar consumption.

I referred back to the article on wholevegan.com, wherein the article explains that Bentonite is used in this process to strip the sugar of any nutritious protein. At this point, 25% of the industry uses bone char, which is considered an agent of mad cow disease. The remaining 75% use activated carbon and according to WebMD can cause side effects that include slowing or blockage of the intestinal tract, regurgitation into the lungs, and dehydration.

“A Spoonful of Sugar Helps the Medicine Go Down?”

“A Spoonful Of Sugar,” a 1964 hit movie classic song from the forever popular movie, “Mary Poppins;” Helps The Medicine Go Down?

Mary Poppins – Spoonful of Sugar…?

Seven years prior in 1957, Dr. William Coda Martin, regarding processed sugar, used the words “toxic”, and “poison” in definition, as “any substance which applied to the body, ingested or developed within the body which causes or may cause disease.” Dr. Martin explained that the results of the process of refined sugar leaves no nutritional value where mother nature provides vitamins with natural sugars in fruit and vegetables. Sugar beets or sugar cane unaltered is very healthy for the human body. However, the “empty” or “naked” calories that processed sugar ingests, actually “leaches” the body of essential natural minerals, such as sodium, potassium and magnesium that vegetables and sodium provide. Lastly, calcium (from the bones) are mobilized and used in chemical transmutation.”

Over time, pyruvic acid is spread throughout your brain and nervous system, along with other “abnormal sugars” in the blood stream. These “toxic metabolites” interfere with the cells respiration, cutting off oxygen, eventually killing the cells. This point marks the beginning of degenerative diseases such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease.

In other words, it might be a good idea to substitute natural fruit or honey to your oatmeal rather than a couple spoonfuls of sugar, or drink coffee black or with raw honey as sweetener.

Processed sugar is everywhere; in soft drinks, pastry, juices and breads. Demands on the medical profession thrive from cancers, heart, blood and liver diseases. Obesity is at historically epidemic levels because of the effect of the enormous amounts of processed sugar we consume. To add insult to injury, in 1982, the U.S. government signed legislation allowing a substance that has been since linked to causing cancer; high fructose corn syrup.

The government knew about this core cause of multiple diseases 57 years ago, yet hasn’t acted in the common interest of good health. The FDA needs to prioritize measures of prevention of disease by requiring changes in sugar processing that result in health coming from a healthy food, rather than diseases coming from a once healthy food. When a process is proven to be “toxic” or “poison” to the body and cause disease, by law, needs to be banned; no matter how much money sweetens the pot; public health before profit.

Unaltered sugar is healthy. Processed honey is similarly striped of its nutrients, like that of sugar. Raw honey

Healing Benefits of Raw Honey (Click for more information)

has nutrients that fight allergies and local raw honey, often found at ‘Farmer’s Markets’, is a healthy alternative to sweeten almost anything. Local honey provides important nutrients essential to your body affected by the climate you live in. Bee pollen has also been known to be a natural way to keep a sex drive healthy. Now that’s sweet!

The symptoms typically last for up to a week and have even been know to take up to four weeks, depending on your current sugar consumption. I have read articles that suggest a “cold turkey” approach and others that suggest a slow and gradual process. I believe that it ultimately comes down to what is best for you. I personally have to quit “cold turkey” or I will continue to yo-yo, only to find myself in the same spot a year later. I know many people that find a gradual process works best for them. Remember, “you are what you eat” and from what I have read and described above, I do not want to be toxic.

Depression Affects EVERYONE!

There have been a couple of times in my life where I hit a mental health “bottom” and felt that I would never see the light of day again. I felt completely hopeless, helpless and wanted this world to disappear. There were many people in my life that judged me and would say that I was being selfish, since I had three beautiful children that loved me. I can understand where they were coming from, as this would NORMALLY be enough for anyone to want to live, but I was no where near “normal” when I was overtaken with complete depression.

Molecular Psychology – Why We Become Depressed

Depression can hurt and not just mentally, but physically, emotionally and spiritually. Depression can tear apart families and forever ruin lives; many people still see it as a “hush-hush” topic, never wanting to reveal that they have or are experiencing some form of depression. It is this stigma around the topic that is creating more problems and validating the feelings of those that already feel worthless and unnecessary.

Depression Hurts

Depression can and does cause physical pain, according to WebMD. In fact, depression has many physical symptoms such as: headaches, back pain, muscle aches and joint pain, chest pain, digestive problems and many more other symptoms. We often self-diagnose ourselves and group our aches and pains into the category of “getting older”, dismissing the feelings that we are stuffing with more work, school, opposite sex, sex, alcohol or whatever helps us dismiss the true pain we are feeling.

Depression Hurts: Brain/Body Connection

In an article written by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), they found that depression and pain share the same neurological pathway. Your response to painful physical stimuli is moderated in the brain by serotonin and nor-epinephrine, which also affect mood. Your mood stabilizers are also your pain stabilizers, creating one big jumble of physical and emotional pain when you become depressed. In fact, patients with chronic pain often report having suicidal idealization and severe “episodes” of depression at a rate of 33% higher than someone that does not have a chronic illness.

Exercise and Depression

Despite the endless articles I have read on healing depression naturally, the most profound statement I have heard came from a conference I attended where one of the speakers was a woman who was in charge of patient care at The Betty Ford Center; “take a step, change a thought.” How many times have you gone for a walk, just boiling with anger. Someone has just added that last habanero pepper to your chili and you are over the

Habanero Angry

“HOT” gauge, you walk away from the situation and when you return you almost forget why you are mad.

A Harvard School of Medicine research paper sites that although it is unproven that a walk will alter your mood, exercising three to four times a day does have a proven effect on depression and mental illness. In fact, in the article it states that, “A follow-up to that study found that exercise’s effects lasted longer than those of antidepressants. Researchers checked in with 133 of the original patients six months after the first study ended. They found that the people who exercised regularly after completing the study, regardless of which treatment they were on originally, were less likely to relapse into depression.” Thereby proving that exercise is the best medicine for mental illness.

Exercise? I Can Barely Get Out of Bed!

Yet, there are many that reach so deep into depression that getting out of bed is a victory in itself, forget about even thinking about exercise. When you have gotten to this point, I want to assure you, there IS hope. There are things you can do to help relieve even the worst cases of depression. In an article titled, “7 Ways to Manage Clinical Depression,” the author lists seven ways to get out of bed and move into the thought of getting past the front door. My favorite tips in this article is Go Easy and STOP TRYING. Don’t be so hard on yourself, when you make it out of the bed for an hour a day, CELEBRATE your victory. When you have the energy to make a meal, CELEBRATE your victory. Those small things deserve praise and gratitude. Be grateful for EVERY small victory, no matter how small.

My favorite tip though; STOP TRYING. The article points out that when you believe the “normal” will help and then it doesn’t, it just makes you feel worse. I hate to point out the obvious, but the “normal” people in the world are often the most abnormal and thereby making their treatments only viable for them. Be the abnormal and accept that the “normal” is not you and you are your own person that was created just the way you are for a reason. I have come to appreciate the statement, “Acceptance looks like a passive state, but in reality it brings something entirely new into this world. That peace, a subtle energy vibration, is consciousness” – Eckhart Tolle. I have accepted that I am not the “normal’; in fact I delight in knowing that I am not “normal,” I am conscious of the world around me and know that they are not “normal” either and for that I am grateful.

Holistic Healing

Exercise or Illness?

There are endless quotes that come from “diet and exercise,” but nothing could be closer to the cluiche than with depression. Foods (healthy) can and will change and enhance your mood, as will unhealthy (fatty) foods alter and worsen your mood, leaving you feeling sluggish and tired. There are many yummy, healthy foods that can alter your mood positively such as: blueberries, avocados, chamomile tea, asparagus, oysters, dark chocolate, oranges and turkey. There are also essential oils that you can put in a difuser or wear that can enhance and improve your moods, such as: lavender, chamomile and valor. For over 3,000 years the Chinese have practiced the healing arts of massage therapy and acupuncture and have found great success with these “non-western” forms of medicine. In fact, massage therapy can not only relieve depression, but can also help ease the pain caused by chronic illnesses. There are many forms of holistic alternatives to pharmaceuticals, but it ultimately comes down to you knowing what is best for you. There are many people that need pharmaceuticals to maintain a healthy and balanced mental status, but to you I still suggest balancing all parts of your life and that includes diet, exercise, meditation, friendships, soul food and service to others.

Vegan/ism?

Everyday more and more people are hearing about a growing movement called Vegan-ism. To the term, one might think, “Oh, I’ve eaten Vegan before, it’s great.” Being Vegan is more than merely a diet, it’s a philosophy. In definition, “ Vegan-ism /ˈviːɡənɪzəm/ is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products, particularly in diet, as well as following an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of sentient animals. A follower of Vegan-ism is known as a vegan.” Wikipedia “Vegan-ism”.

Why Vegan?

Vegan, as a lifestyle, is everyone’s right in America.

Country BBQ

For the BBQ loving carnivore, forget about it, simply it isn’t going to happen. However, if you struggle with heart disease, colon and lung cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, liver, kidney dysfunctions, hypertension, and obesity, to name a few; considering a Vegan diet just might be the solution to your bodies dysfunction.

levels”, and noted that “For plaque progression to cease, it appears that the serum total cholesterol needs to be lowered to the 150 mg/dl area….the serum level…of that of the average vegetarian.”

If you have high cholesterol, unless you adopt a vegetarian diet, the only other choice you have is to lower your LDL cholesterol level is with pharmaceuticals. This year new side effects warning label for such pharmaceuticals reads, “side effects: increased in associated memory loss and confusion, an increase of blood sugar levels, as well as new onset diabetes.” Still, many carnivore vow, “If I can’t live the way I want to live, then I don’t want to live.” Sadly, many won’t.

“If Americans adopted a vegetarian diet, the whole thing (heart disease epidemic) would go away.” The choice is yours: Pharmaceuticals with severe side effects? Or a vegetarian diet? You live or die with YOUR decision.

In considering a Vegan diet, be aware that Vegan is a mindset; a mindfulness of not harming another living being and making them suffer in order for you to eat. Mindful eating results in more healthy eating. Mindful eating considers how the food was raised, processed, and also asks what chemicals are being consumed, and how will they affect one’s health. Mindful eating can have a profound affect on one’s overall health.

Where Do I Start?

Start with being mindful of what you already eat. The

Mindful Eating: A Guide to Rediscovering a Healthy and Joyful Relationship with Food

Even if you’re determined NOT to give up the ceremonial BBQ, mindful eating can be beneficial to your health. Routine doctor visits and regularly checking your blood pressure, with a well balanced diet and exercise program are daily routines for the health conscious. Just by allowing food to go back to the original purpose of nourishing the body, rather than pacifying an appetite, is mindful eating.

Educating yourself about how your food was processed can affect your appetite. For example, back in the late 70’s, I had a job that delivered to a slaughter house. I had to take bags of linens over slaughtered carcasses to make the delivery. Witnessing the killing (as much as I love beef), I couldn’t eat it for a few seasons after witnessing how it was processed. Slaughterhouse sights, smells, sounds had a profound affect on my appetite.

There are a lot of videos on Vegan vs. Meat Eater. View and take note of the good information. There are some extremist, however most Vegans are objective, especially those who are short-time Vegan. They remember the difficulty of the mindset adjustment and sometimes people just don’t understand “different.”

Slow Food

Slow Food

In college, I researched “Slow Food” style of eating. “Slow Food is a global, grassroots organisation with supporters in over 150 countries around the world that links the pleasure of food with a commitment to the community and the environment.”

Slow Food vs. Fast Food

With slow food, in opposition to “fast food”; everything about how the food is grown; nutrients, and making sure the beef, poultry or pork is treated humanely; what grain it was fed, prohibiting injection of hormones or steroids. Microwaves or any form of radiation in cooking is prohibited. There is sort of a backwards in time style of cooking and mindset. Food is to be taken seriously, and enjoyed thoroughly.

On the other hand, costs are much more expensive because the feed for cattle, or organic elements of the soil where the vegetables are grown are evaluated. No pesticides, artificial flavors or additives are allowed. Therefore the cost of a slow food turkey, ham, or roast beef may be much higher than the meat products on sale at your local supermarket. Then again, for about the same cost of eating fast food everyday, one can adopt a “slow food” lifestyle if they are conscious about their diet. (Slow Food)

Most people look favorable on Vegan diet, whereas Vegan-ism is a whole different story. Change in diet doesn’t have to involve a political movement. However, awareness of how your food is grown before it is consumed is beneficial for your health. Healthier diets begin with awareness.

Breaking away from unhealthy eating habits confronts everyone at one time or another. The internet hosts a vast variety, (including Holistic Thymes) of educational information about how to eat healthier, and why. There are pros and cons to every argument. Ultimately, you are responsible for your health. Changing from a “see-food” diet to “Mindful Eating,” or adopting Vegan-ism, or simply counting calories, will benefit your health. Common sense, awareness and mindfulness are the keys to healthy eating. GOD BLESS!

My Experience With Livers

I live in a city that I have heard referred to as “second chance town” or a “town in recovery.” Part of my story is having to detox from all the pharmaceuticals I was handed and took for years when diagnosed with MS 2006. In 2005, I had gallbladder surgery, where they had to remove 2/3 of my liver due to infection. By 2011, I was near death just from all the side effects caused by the pharmaceuticals I was given to “live.” Now, three years later, I have been restored; my liver is fully restored. I believe it was a combination of several things, but it all comes down to balance; body, mind, spirit and emotional. I had to take back the control given to Doctor’s who barely knew me, turn to my Great Physician and Healer (God) and I let Him guide my research and body in finding what was best for me. Through this experience I have gained significant amounts of information on alternative healing and have helped many on their journey to recovery.

What Is the Function of the Liver

I recently was asked, “what is the most natural way to cleanse a liver with foods?” I knew several tips, but when I am asked questions, I research the question no matter how much I think I know. I was amazed with what I found on livers and their function. I came across a website (Huffington Post) that gave me the “a-ha” moment of a lifetime when I realized most of my symptoms could have stemmed from just my bad liver alone; low immune system, headaches, chronic fatigue, obesity and much more. These symptoms plagued me for years and it was always attributed to one illness or another, not to the fact that the pharmaceuticals were destroying my liver. I am grateful I was lead to change my diet and lifestyle, regardless of my Doctors opinions. I am alive today because of this decision.

Foods That Cleanse The Liver

What Can Help Cleanse Your Liver Naturally?

First things first, if you are taking any medication that can have adverse effects on your liver, go to your physician immediately and request a change in medication, then research their new recommendation. Never take anyone’s “word” when it comes to your life. Next, cut down on your proteins, cut out all refined sugars, drink lots of water and eat fruits and vegetables that cleanse the liver naturally; grapefruits, beets, avocados, leafy greens, lemons and many others listed on the link above.

I LOVE my mornings in the garden, this is my way of meditation. There is nothing better than having my time with God’s most elegant yet simple gift, nature. I have attached a link to help you get started on your own garden. Remember, anyone CAN garden; I live in the Desert and was once thwarted from gardening because I was considered the world’s best “brown thumb.” Another great resource is your local florist, I have DHS Florist & Nursery and John is an expert.